1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for allocating a resource in a wireless network using a directional antenna, and more particularly, to a method and apparatus for allocating a resource in a wireless network using a directional antenna that may spatially reuse resources using the directional antenna, and thereby may reduce a communication delay and increase throughput.
2. Description of Related Art
Currently, a millimeter wave band (57 GHz through 66 GHz) is the focus of attention after being assigned as an unlicensed frequency band to overcome a shortage of frequency resources. A millimeter wave may have properties such as a short wavelength, high frequency, having a broadband width, being susceptible to atmosphere, and the like. Such properties may have advantages and disadvantages. For example, 60 GHz frequency bands may have a high data rate using an ultra wideband, and also have advantages such as robustness against interferences due to high linearity, superior security, easy reuse of frequency, and the like. Also, since 60 GHz frequency bands may have a short wavelength, a variety of used components may be compact and light weight. However, 60 GHz frequency bands may have a short radio range due to absorption by oxygen molecules and attenuation due to rain, and require a predetermined line of sight distance. A directional antenna having a high gain in a physical layer may be regarded as overcoming the above-described disadvantages. A directional antenna may radiate transmission energy in only a desired direction. Accordingly, a radio range may be extended, and a high gain may be obtained. Also, since the use of a narrow antenna beam enables a space to be reused, a plurality of users in the same region may simultaneously perform communication, and a data amount may increase.
The use of millimeter wave band may increase due to the increase in wireless applications requiring a high transmission rate. Also, a significance of an efficient use of resources using a directional antenna may increase.
Much research on a millimeter wave band using a directional antenna has been conducted. In particular, a resource allocation in a Wireless Personal Area Networks (WPANs) in a Medium Access Control (MAC) has been a subject of interest. When data amount to be processed is not significant, a particular resource allocation scheduling may not be required. However, considering that a data amount is ever increasing, a resource allocation is desired.